artificial intelligence
Israel’s startup ecosystem powers ahead, amid a year of change
But it’s been hard to argue against this position in the last ten years, as the country powered ahead, famously producing ground-breaking startups like Waze, which was eventually picked up by Google
Financial forecasting startup Springbox AI launches its apps and raises $2M
Springbox AI, an AI-powered financial forecasting application designed to replace financial market investment service and aimed at the average financial markets trader, has launched on iOS and Android
ETH spin-off LatticeFlow raises $2.8M to help build trustworthy AI systems
LatticeFlow, an AI startup that was spun out of ETH Zurich in 2020, today announced that it has raised a $2.8 million seed funding round led by Swiss deep-tech fund btov and Global Founders Capital, w
Qualcomm-backed chipmaker Kneron nails Foxconn funding, deal
A startup based out of San Diego and Taipei is quietly nailing fundings and deals from some of the biggest names in electronics. Kneron, which specializes in energy-efficient processors for edge artif
Extra Crunch roundup: 2 VC surveys, Tesla’s melt up, The Roblox Gambit, more
Thanks very much for reading Extra Crunch this week. I hope we can all look forward to a nice, boring weekend with no breaking news alerts.
SilviaTerra wants to bring the benefits of carbon offsets to every landowner everywhere
Zack Parisa and Max Nova, the co-founders of the carbon offset company SilviaTerra, have spent the last decade working on a way to democratize access to revenue-generating carbon offsets. As forestry
Deep Science: Using machine learning to study anatomy, weather and earthquakes
Research papers come out far too rapidly for anyone to read them all, especially in the field of machine learning, which now affects (and produces papers in) practically every industry and company. Th
Google, Alphabet employees unionize
A group of more than 200 Google and Alphabet workers have announced the formation of the Alphabet Workers Union, The New York Times first reported. With the help of Communication Workers of America Un
Human Capital: The biggest labor stories of 2020
Hellllooooo, 2021! Welcome back to Human Capital, a weekly newsletter that details the latest in the realms of labor, diversity and inclusion. Not a ton happened this week so I figured I’d use the t
The big question on every startup’s mind for 2021
My big question for 2021, and the one that is on every startup’s mind, is how will a cataclysmic event such as a global pandemic show up in post-pandemic innovation? I think we’re in the early
China’s adaptive robot maker Flexiv raises over $100 million
As businesses around the world look to automate production lines and supply chains, companies making the robots are attracting great investor interest. The latest to get funded is Flexiv, which closed
National Grid sees machine learning as the brains behind the utility business of the future
If the portfolio of a corporate venture capital firm can be taken as a signal for the strategic priorities of their parent companies, then National Grid has high hopes for automation as the future of
After lockdowns boost gaming marketplace Eneba, it raises $8M from Practica and InReach
Eneba, a marketplace for gamers that sells games and other products, has raised an $8 million round of funding from Practica Capital and InReach Ventures. The funding is described as a “combinat
Tips for applying an intersectional framework to AI development
Ultimately, there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach to building intersectional AI. At The Trevor Project, our team has outlined a methodology based on what we do, what we know today and the s
Adobe brings over 20,000 design assets to Spark
Adobe is launching an update to its Spark social media design tool today that will bring more than 20,000 new design assets to the service. This update, which follows the launch of animations in Spark
Brainly raises $80M as its platform for crowdsourced homework help balloons to 350M users
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a major upswing in virtual learning — where some schools have gone (and stayed) remote, and others have incorporated significantly stronger online components in
Skylum launches Luminar AI, its AI photo editor
Over the course of the last few years, Skylum made a name for itself with a set of photo-editing apps like Aurora HDR and Luminar. With Luminar AI, it is now launching a brand-new photo editor, starti
Turing nabs $32M more for an AI-based platform to source and manage engineers remotely
As remote work continues to solidify its place as a critical aspect of how businesses exist these days, a startup that has built a platform to help companies source and bring on one specific category
Boast.ai raises $23M to help businesses get their R&D tax credits
Nobody likes dealing with taxes — until the system works in your favor. In many countries, startups can receive tax credits for their R&D work and related employee cost, but as with all thin
Microsoft brings new process mining features to Power Automate
Power Automate is Microsoft’s platform for streamlining repetitive workflows — you may remember it under its original name: Microsoft Flow. The market for these robotic process automation